My mama used to say if she just got to church for one song and the sermon she was good. Not me. I love all of church. In my childhood AME home, I liked looking at the semi-synchronized acolyte, clergy and choir processional and the directions of the white-gloved professionals, ushers orchestrating seating and signaling each other what their next move would be. I loved the singing and the soulful sounds of saints paying tribute to God with prayers and getting happy in the Holy Ghost. And I still like all this and some chicken, the gospel bird, a permanent fixture in the black church kitchen. Though I love these, I am aware of their seducing power and have escaped settling for the comfort of their sounds and smells. Unfortunately, the lure of tradition and chicken has trapped many in the Christian church and that is all they are equipped to serve.

We have forgotten that the basis of the preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ includes telling other people—not the people we sing and sup with but those outside the church. This message starts with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ—His sacrifice to save the world from their sin—but continues on with the scriptural message to love the lost and found to make this world a better place (Hebrews 12:14; Romans 15:1-3).

This is what Martin Luther King Jr. preached. He saw the ails and lost hope of this world and preached about the love and justice that should be in this world. Some people didn’t get it, may still not get it, but his is the message that still needs to be preached, the message that we Christians still need to preach. It is our message, the gospel message, and made possible through the power of Jesus Christ.

So on this day of service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I hope we seek to serve others the gospel message: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the possibility of a changed world through Him.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith